Trump campaign billed $40K for IUP rally

Indiana University of Pennsylvania billed the campaign of former President Donald Trump $40,000 for its use of the 5,000-seat Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex for this week’s rally.

The state-owned university on Friday provided a copy of the invoice agreement in response to inquiries this week from TribLive.

The total facility rental costs plus expenses appear to include event staffing, housekeeping, audio-visual and operations staff, though itemized charges for each were not broken out. Nor was there a reference to security expenses.

At IUP, guidelines expressly prohibit “activities for the purpose of advancing a single political candidate or party” in any university-­controlled facility.” Though the Kovalchick also is university-owned, it follows separate guidelines that do not forbid such gatherings. The university has said the Monday rally was not a sanctioned IUP event.

IUP also provided the invoice agreement for a smaller event at the Kovalchick in 2022 hosted by U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, at the time Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor and a Senate candidate. It was a smaller event, and the charge was $1,500.

“The payments associated with these agreements have been received,” IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said Friday of both events.

Monday’s rally that filled the 13-year-old arena put IUP and surrounding borough in the national spotlight of a hard-fought presidential race between Trump, the Republican candidate and 45th president, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate. Both campaigns have been crisscrossing the pivotal swing state.

Doors opened at 3 p.m. for a scheduled 7 p.m. appearance, which Fryling said went off without trouble, even as some students protested the appearance.

“According to police, there were no arrests made,’’ she said.

Fetterman held his rally at the Kovalchick in September 2022, but it does not appear it involved the 5,000-seat arena bowl. He spoke to a group of 450 IUP students and others in the building’s main lobby, according to a Sept. 21, 2022, story in IUP’s student newspaper, The Penn.

Event setup, breakdown and housekeeping costs were $200; security costs were $400, and another $100 went for audio-visual support.

The agreement for Monday’s rally identified the responsible party as “Trump Rally” and identified the party responsible for Fetterman’s event as “Fetterman for Pa.”